Core covering apparatus



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 A. c. NYsTRoM CORE COVERING APPARATUS Filed oct. 7, 1942 March 14, 1944.

March 14, 1944. A NYSTROM 2,343,994

CORE COVERING APPARATUS Filed Oct. '7. 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 /NVEN TOR A. C. NYSTROM ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 14, 1944 2,343,994 CORE COVERING lAPPARATUS Axel C. Nystrom, Rutherford, N. J., assignor to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application Gctober 7, 1942, Serial No. 461,225

16 Claims.

This invention relates to core covering apparatus, and more particularly to tape serving machines. f

In tape serving machines the supply pads of tapeV are usually mounted in a serving head rotatable about an advancing strand to which the tape is served. The speed at which the machine may be operated in serving the tape depends greatly upon control of the tension on the tape. In most instances the tape is drawn from its supply, causing rotation of the supply upon a suitable shaft. However, although frictionless bearings may be provided to minimize the drag at the supply, an increase in speed of the serving head increases the drag due to the increase in centrif-ugal force. It has been found advantageous, therefore, to eliminate the effect of centrifugal force on such supply pads so that the speed of the serving head may .be increased Without increasing the tension on the tape being served.

An object of the invention is to provide a material serving apparatus, and more particularly a simple yet highly ecient serving head for serving material to an advancing core.

With this and other objects in view, the invention comprises a serving head rotatable about an advancing core and having a spindle to rotatably support a supply of material adapted to be served to the core, with means adapted to rotate the spindle in the direction of rotation of the supply to remove any drag on the supply due to centrifugal force.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of the machine, portions thereof being shown in section;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary top plan view of the structure shown in Fig. 1, portions thereof being broken away, and

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. l.

Referring now to the drawings, attention is first directed to Fig. 1, which illustrates a frame I0 upon which uprights II and l2 are mounted. The upper end of the upright II has a bearing portion I4 to rotatably support a hollow shaft I5. A multiple pulley I6 is mounted upon the shaft I5 and is operatively connected to a driving motor I'I through the aid of belts I8 and a multiple pulley I9. The inner portion of the shaft I5 has a sun gear 20 and a flange 2l mounted thereon, the latter being fixed to an end 22 of a `and. supports the worm 49.

serving head indicated generally at 23. An end 24 of the serving head is supported by a flange member 25 which is mounted upon a hollow spindle 26, the latter being supported by the vupright I2. Lateral beams 20, of the serving head shown in Figs. 1 and 3, are disposed at diametrically opposed positions between the ends 22 and 24 and are supported thereby. These beams are identical in structure and so is the material or tape supplying means carried thereby. Therefore, a specific description of one tape supply will serve for Iboth supplies shown.

Attention is, therefore, directed to the lower portion of the serving head shown in Fig. 1. Here an aperture 3| is formed in the beam 30 in such a manner as to support a frictionless bearing 32 held in place by a cover plate 33. The bearing 32 rotatably supports a spindle 34 which projects inwardly toward the center of the head 23, where another frictionless bearing 36 rotatably supports a tape holder 31. The tape holder is of the structure shown, being circular in general contour with a hub portion 38, upon which a pad 39 of tape 40 is disposed, and a disc-shaped portion 4I to support the pad by centrifugal force. The inner end of the hub portion 38 is closed, as at 42, to rest upon the innner end of the spindle 34. A ring gear 44, of the worm type, is disposed concentric with the spindle 34 and secured to the pad holder 31 by means of screws 45. This gear is operatively connected to a brake means hereinafter described, to impart a given braking force on the holder to create a predetermined tension in the tape being served. A worm gear 48 is xedly mounted upon the spindle 34 and interengages a worm 49.

Considering first the spindle driving means,

attentionis again directed to the sun gear 20,

which has planet gears 52 and 53 disposed in interengagement therewith and to be driven thereby during the rotation of the serving head 23. The planet gear 53 is iixedly mounted upon a shaft 54, which is journaled in suitable bearings The planet gear 53 is iixedly mounted upon a shaft 55, which is suitably journaled in bearings and has a worm 56 identical with the Worm 49 mounted thereon and disposed in interengagement with its worm gear 48. It will be apparent, by viewing Figs. l and 3, that the worms 49 and -56 are positioned upon opposite sides of their respective wobm gear 48, the purpose of this structure being to cause rotation of their spindle 34 in opposite directions from the direction of rotation of their respective pad holder 31. l

Attention is now directed to the brake applying means. The hollow shaft I5 has a tubular member @il slidable axially therein and normally urged outwardly, that is to the left, by the force of a spring 6l which may .be varied through the adjustment of a nut 62, the latter being threadedly mounted upon the outer end of the tubular ymember. The tubular member projects., through the shaft I5 and` into the serving head23'to afposition where a bracket 64 is mounted and provided with pairs of guide rolls 56, over which the tapes;

40 from the pads 39 may pass in being directed to an advancing core El.

directthe tapesM for spiral windings inlike directions ony thecereduringvv the advancement of the-.latten Y' I A brake unit 101,1 which-is -of` tl-iejmultipledisc type, is'under the controllof the spring-1 M and the tapes to serve l in maintainir-igA constant1 tension on the tapes. Itf is believed thaty a" detailed structure of this brake is notnecessary4for a clearl understanding ofthe inventionfas-'l-multiple rdisc-brakesfare wel-1 known in thel'art. However, worm gears 7| and 152 are-rotatablyA mounted upon the tubular member- 60V" andhave-y the discspf the brake "lil disposed therebetween,- certain of the discs--beingconnected'forrotationwith thegear-"H Whiletheintermedia-tediscsare con- I Sii', is movable therewith under the forcent-the l spring 5|, tonormally urge" the gearj 'I-Ztoward the` gear 'il and'create apredeterminedfbraking force in the 'brake' unitJEl-dependingf upon the force of the spring 61 i' The braking'fo'rceexiste ing at the gears 1landTTistranSmitted t0,y their respective padholder; 31'tl'1'rough'wo-rms 18, and 'lil respectively,- These worms haveuniversal connections Sii with their respective'- shafts 81 and 62,' to driveworms 8,3 an`d`84" respectively (Fig. 3) to inturn drive their respective gears da. Therefore, during the rotation oftherpads 39 resulting from' the# payingv off ofthe', tapes d, the padtholders wi'l-lbe-rotated inopposite directions, rotating their gears fVaccordingl-y -to eventually rotate thel worm-bears 'H and'lZ in' opposite directions. The brakingforce existing between thegears 'H and 12'fwill; thenabfe'transmitted backthrough their driving,connections-to the supply pad-s, toicreate a; giverrdrag-'uponeacir tape andcreateagiven'tension therein. A's-thfe' braking force originates between thetwo gears il and l2; the tension' upon: the tapes will be` equal. Y

' Upon consideringl the-operationof the appa'- ratus, let is be assumed' that'the, core 61'; which inthey present instancel may bea Astrandl or' cable structure, isadvancediat a'given speed-tlflroughA the'servinghead.- AfterA the iendsof the -tapeli1 have been attachedto the core priorztothe-starting of the advancing `movement thereof: the

The corew* passesl through the tubular member. 60, a` polishingfhead 58 and the hollow spindle 25.- Tlfieqooli,shinghead1A,l is supported a desired distance fromgtheyoutlet: end of the tubular member Siler thev guide ,rolls 66, through the aid of parallelfrods64 shownin Fig. 2. Thus there are provided guiderv rolls. 6 6 to receive the tapes from their supply padsand serving head may be caused to rotate through the energization of the motor I 1. Thus the serving head is rotated in a given direction, namely clockwise (Fig. 3), and during this rotation the tape is paid oi of the supply pads about their respective guide rolls 66 and served to the core in reverse spiral wrappings. At the beginning of the rotation of the serving head, a given tension isapplied to the tapes through the brake unit 'l0 affected by the force of the spring 6|, which braking force is transmitted through the worms 18 and 19, their shafts Gl and 82, the worms-83 and 84, to their gears 44.

A4As the-speedof the serving head increases,

,.centriiugal forceY would create another braking force-at the, spindles 34 if the spindles remained Y stationary. However, the spindles are driven not `only-inthe direction of rotation of their respecl dles '342from-the beginning of the rotation ofthe serving head tothe maximumrspeed'of rotation of the latter, rotate thespindles in-advanceof their pad holders, creating an assisting driving force for the-pad holders andremoving--frietional drag which would exist if the spindles-were allowed to remain against rotation. Thedriv ing force of the spindles-may tend to decrease the tension onvthe tapes 40; but this iscompensated forbythe brake unit 10 and-its vassistinglspring 6l; Therefore, there exists anoverlapping of effort between the tension meansat the brake unit 'l0-and the driving means at-the spindle, to eliminate any undue tension on the tape,` particularly-during the starting-of Ytheserving/head. It is,` therefore, apparentlthat regardless of the speed of the head and the centrifugal torque on the pad holders; the tension on the tapesmayy be maintained; constant.l

Although specific improvements ofthe invention have been shown and described, itwill'b'eunderstood that they-are but'illustrative and-that various modifications may be made-therein without departingfronr the scopehand spiritoftl'iis invention'as1 defined by the--appended claims:

What is claimed is:

1: A- material servingV apparatus comprising- ;a

servinghead rotatable about; an advancingcore and including a holder, for a-supplyof material to be-served to the advancing core, rotatedY about an` axis Vat an angle with respect to the axisof the serving head andl in agiverr direction byjthe material being withdrawn from tlfx'e'supply;4 a spindle to support'the'holder forrotation', and meansv to rotatethe spindlein thesaid given direction. f

2.1V A- material servingV apparatusA comprising a serving head rotatable about anr advancing core and includinga holder, for a supplyoflmaterial to be served to the advancingcore,l rotated-ina given direction .by the material beinglwithdrawn from thesupply; a; spindle toi supporti the holderl forgrota-tion, and means to -rotatethe spindle 'in the said given direction and l' at' aspeedgreater th-anlthat'ofY the holder. v 3. Aj materialiservingapparatuscomprising a serving head'rotatable aboutfan advancingicore andjncluding-a'holder, fora supplyfof Irlalterialv to'beA served tothe advancing core, rotated inla givengdirection -by the material being l withdrawn 15* from the-supply, means to rotatably'supp'ort the holder, means to create a given tension on the material being served, the holder being affected by centrifugal force during its vrotation with the serving head tending to move the holder relative toits supporting meansto create a drag on the i material being served, and means adapted to cause the holder to remove'the drag irom'the material.

4. -A material serving apparatus comprising a serving head rotatable about an advancing core and :including a holder, for a supply of material to be served to the advancing core, rotated ina given direction by the material being withdrawn from the supply, means to rotatably support the holder, means to create a given tension on the material being served, the holder being aifected by centrifugal force during its rotation with the serving head tending to move the holder relative to its supporting means to create a drag on the material being served, and means tending to rotate the holder to remove the drag from the material.

5. A material serving apparatus comprising a serving head rotatable about an advancing core and including a holder, for a supply of material to be served to the advancing core, rotated in a given direction by the material being withdrawn from the supply, means to rotatably support the holder, means to create a given tension on the material being served, the holder being aiected by centrifugal force during its rotation with the serving head tending to move the holder relative to its supporting means to create a drag on the material being served, and means to rotate the supporting means With the holder to remove the drag from the material.

6. A material serving apparatus comprising a serving head rotatable about an advancing core and including a holder, for a supply of material to be served to the advancing core, rotated in a given direction by the material being Withdrawn from the supply, means to rotatably support the holder, means to create a given tension on the material being served, the holder being affected by centrifugal force during its rotation with the serving `head tending to move the holder relative to its supporting means to create a drag on the material being served, and means to rotate the supporting means with and at a faster speed than the holder to remove the drag from the material. l

7. A material serving apparatus comprising a serving head rotatable about an advancing core and including a holder, for a supply of material to be served to the advancing core, rotated in a given direction by the material being Withdrawn from the supply, means to apply a given braking drag on the holder to create a given tension in the material, the holder being aiected by centrifugal force during its rotation With the serving head to create an additional drag on the material, and means adapted to cause the holder to remove the said additional drag.

8. A material serving apparatus comprising a serving head rotatable about an advancing core and including a holder, for a supply of material to be served to the advancing core, rotated in a given direction by the material being withdrawn from the supply, means to apply a given braking drag on the holder to create a given tension in the material, the holder being affected by varying centrifugal forces during varying rotary speeds of the serving head to create an additional drag of varying values on the material, and operable meansvariable with the said varying forces to removethe said additional drag.l

9. Amaterial serving apparatus comprising-a serving head rotatable about an advancing core 'and including a holder, for a supply of material to -be served to the advancingfcore, rotated in a given-.direction by` the material being Withdrawn '.-from the supply, meansto apply agiven braking -dragion the-holder'to create a given tension in themateriaL the-holder being affected by varying centrifugal forces. during varying rotary speeds of the serving head to create an additional drag .of varying values lon. the material, and means .operable atv'ariable speeds with the serving head to cause removal of the said additional drag.

10. A material serving apparatus comprising a serving head rotatable about an advancing core and including a holder, for a supply of material to be served to the advancing core, rotated in a given direction by the material being Withdrawn from the supply, a spindle to support the holder for rotation, means to apply a given braking drag on the holder to create a given tension in the material, the holder being affected by centrifugal force during its rotation with the serving head to create an additional drag on the material, and means to rotate the spindle to remove the said additional drag on the material.

11. A material serving apparatus comprising a serving head rotatable about an advancing core and including a holder, for a supply of material to be served to the advancing core, rotated in a given direction by the material being Withdrawn from the supply, a spindle to support the holder for rotation, means to apply a given braking drag on the holder to create a given tension in the material, the holder being affected by centrifugal force during its rotation with the serving head to create an additional drag on the material, and means to rotate the spindle with and at a faster speed than the holder to remove the said additional drag on the material.

12. A material serving apparatus comprising a serving head rotatable about an advancing core and including a holder, for a supply of material to be served to the advancing core, mounted parallel with the axis of the head for rotation in a given direction by the material being Withdrawn from the supply, means to apply a given braking drag on the holder to create a given tension in the material, the holder being aiected by centrifugal force during its rotation with the serving head to create an additional drag on the material, and means adapted to cause the holder to remove the said additional drag.

13. A material serving apparatus comprising a serving head rotatable about an advancing core and including a plurality of holders, for supplies of materials to be served to the advancing core, rotated about axes at angles with respect to the axis of the serving head by the materials being withdrawn from the supplies, spindles to support the holders for rotation, and means to rotate each spindle in the direction of its holder.

14. A material serving apparatus comprising a serving head rotatable about an advancing core and including diametrically opposed holders, for supplies of materials to be served to the advancing core, rotated about axes at angles with respect to the axis of the serving head and in opposite directions by the materials being Withdrawn from the supplies, spindles to support the holders for rotation, and means to rotate each spindle in the direction of its holder.

1,5. A material serving apparatus comprising a,

.serving head-rOtatabIe-,ahOut an; advancingv core and including diametricaly; opposed holderatfor supplies: oftmatealsffto bevrseryedftthegadvancingicore, rotatedrin opp0site1directionsby therma- Vteriellsnloengs Withdrawnfromzthefslpplibrake ,mean'si driven byV theiA holders tof; causey application' ofgiven'tensionsito; thematerialsitheholders being: effected'A by' centrif-ngai;` forceqdurjng their a holder for aAV supply of material tobe served-)tp thel advancingg core; aspindle?- to support the holderfor rotation about: an` axis'- disposed at .right angles with: respect to the advancing. core, A means toapply;` a given brakedra on thev holder to create a given tensionin themateriaLvtlie *holderA beingA affected-bycentrifugal force during its rotation with the serving head to c reatean additional; drag-pn` the rnater1a1,l and. means to lorotater the; spindle A in the, direction. of rotation of: the; holder and; atv a faster speedJ thany the holder. toaremove, the said additional drag. onrthe material; v AXEL C. NYSTROM. 

